Weight gain is one of the the most talked about symptoms when it comes to Hashimoto’s & Hypothyroidism. It can be so demoralising to follow all the advise given and still see the weight pile on.
It’s something I see over and over again when clients first come to me. I also hear it multiple times a day in Facebook support groups – how do I lose this weight, I’ve tried everything!
I’ve also suffered with weight fluctuations myself especially prior to diagnosis and when medication was not optimal! But making some changes to my diet and lifestyle saw that weight disappear! My weight is now constant and is exactly where it should be. And I’m certainly not counting calories or exercising like a fiend!
If you’re sick of hearing that you need to try harder or eat less and move more?
Which is BS by the way!!
There’s more to weight loss than just food and exercise! Poor gut health is often at the root of weight issues! Fix the gut and you’ll lose that weight!
Here’s what happens when your gut is not healthy:
- Inflammation increases
- Dysbiosis occurs, which is an imbalance between the good bacteria and the not so beneficial bacteria and yeasts.
- Yeasts and pathogenic or non beneficial bacteria prefer sugar as a food source and this will increase your cravings for these foods if they are out of control.
- Risk of infection from parasites and other pathogens increases
- Intestinal permeability or leaky gut as it’s often referred to increases
- The immune system kicks into overdrive to deal with this and increase autoimmune activity in the process
- The liver becomes overburdened as it has to deal with the processing of these immune antigen-antibody complexes. Whilst your liver is busy dealing with this it’s less able to focus on converting thyroid hormones. You’ll eventually start to notice hypothyroid symptoms increasing, including weight gain.
Did you know that the bacteria in the gut send messages to our brain and to immune system?
When the bacteria is in balance the messages will be anti-inflammatory in nature and everything will be functioning in harmony. When those bacteria get out of balance however the signals become inflammatory causing havoc to the normal functioning of the body.
Here’s how this impacts weight loss:
- Inflammation in the gut or elsewhere triggers the release of cortisol to help deal with the inflammation.
- Chronic inflammation leads to consistent and increasing levels of cortisol which causes more stress and inflammation. And you guessed it even more cortisol to deal with it.
- Eventually this leads to overtaxed adrenals (which will impact thyroid function) and further digestive dysfunction.
- When cortisol levels become chronic it causes weight gain by increasing cravings and appetite (often for sugary foods).
- Cortisol triggers the release of sugar into the bloodstream for your muscles to use to either fight or run. When neither of these occur the brain triggers the release of insulin to lower the now dangerous levels of blood sugar. This now gets stored as fat in your cells.
- Cortisol contributes to intestinal permeability and a leaky blood brain barrier! So not only are you likely to experience weight gain you’ll notice brain function, mood and energy are impacted too.
As you can see there are several areas that are linked to weight gain:
- An overburdened liver and a decrease in thyroid hormone conversion
- Bacteria and yeast driving sugar cravings
- Increased cortisol leading to increased insulin levels, increased fat storage, increased appetite and cravings
There are several diet, lifestyle and environmental causes of inflammation in the gut that leads to dysbiosis:
- Inflammatory foods, ie sugar, refined carbohydrates, processed foods, emulsifiers in foods and pesticides used on produce all cause inflammation and leaky gut.
- Food sensitivities cause inflammation and need to be removed whilst the gut is healed. These can often be reintroduced once healing has taken place.
- Stress! It shuts down the digestive process, stopping the release of digestive juices and hormones as well as the muscular contraction of the digestive tract.
- Poor sleep overtime leads to dysbiosis and poor detox and repair.
- Environmental toxins can disrupt the microbiome and the endocrine system and have been linked to weight gain directly such as BPA, pesticides, emulsifiers, mould, heavy metals.
Want some help losing that weight and getting your gut health in check?
There are 4 ways in which I can help you deal with gut health and weight issues:
The FREE Blood Sugar Balancing for Weight Loss Challenge will teach you why you need to balance blood sugar and how to do it so you can see the scales move in the right direction!
The challenge always takes place in my free Facebook group, join now to find out when the next challenge will run. Or drop me an email and ask – helen@helenmallaburn.com
The Hashimoto’s Weight Loss Programme. It comes with a pre-recorded video walking you through the factors stopping weight loss and how to address them. It’s accompanied by a 14 day meal plan, recipes, snack ideas and shopping lists to help you get that weight shifted. This is perfect for those who are motivated to do it themselves.
The 8 Week Hashimoto’s & Hypothyroid Weight Loss Programme. This is a group programme that dives deeper into weight loss issues, looking at your individual food diary to assess problem areas and interpreting your thyroid tests to see if levels are where they need to be for weight loss to happen. There are weekly live online teaching sessions where I also answer any questions you have and record your progress with weight loss. There is a dedicated support group on Facebook which is great for accountability and motivation. Plus you get a copy of the Hashimoto’s Healthy Eating Recipe eBook with 70 recipes all designed for those with Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism! Want to know when the next one will run?
Sign up to the waiting list here!
The 1:1 Hashimoto’s Healing Programme. This is a 6 month bespoke programme that is designed to help you get to the bottom of your autoimmune triggers so that you can say goodbye to the endless Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroid symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, brain fog and digestive issues. It’s about time you started to feel like you again!
Book your free call to find out more here!
Main – Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
